Election 2023: Hubbard wins Town Supervisor race

Riverhead Republicans celebrated an across-the-board victory Tuesday while Democrats said they did their best and are setting their sights on the next election.

Late Tuesday night at Stonewalls, a restaurant at The Woods at Cherry Creek golf course in Riverhead, supervisor-elect Tim Hubbard thanked his family, friends and town employees. 

“Our town workers are the backbone of the workforce of the Town of Riverhead,” he said. “I can’t thank all of them enough for what they do each and every day. … We’re here because of you and we love to work with you. And we appreciate everything you do every day.”

Incoming town councilwoman Denise Merrifield, a veteran county prosecutor, said she looks forward to a proactive term.

“I have had a 30-year career as a public servant, and I have always been helping my community,” she said in an interview Tuesday night. “But in the past, it’s been reactive. I had to wait for an arrest to occur before I could ever help the community.

“This way,” she said, “I can proactively help the community … I can help with legislation. I can help with issues that are coming up in the town — and I want to be a part of that. I love my town. I’ve been here for 26 years. And I want to be a part of helping it continue to be a great town.”

Joann Waski, who also secured a Town Board seat, said supporting local law enforcement is vital to Riverhead’s future.

“Number one is our police department,” said Ms. Waski, who is married to a retired Riverhead police detective and has a son on the force. “I want them to know that I fully support them. I want to make sure that they’re safe. Downtown Riverhead is extremely important to me. I want to continue with the revitalization of downtown.”

Ms. Waski said she also wants “to steer away from the mega warehouses that have been proposed and finalize the comprehensive plan.”

Newly elected town clerk James Wooten, said he hopes his new position will be a good fit.

“I spent my entire life working for the town, as a police officer, as a councilman … I was born and raised here — fifth generation — so I want to give back to the people that live here. I love this town. And the town clerk [position] lends itself perfectly to me, because it’s not a political job. This is a service job, serving every resident, whether they’re Democrat or Republican … I can do that.”

Mr. Wooten went on to say, “I just want to help people get through all the things they have to get through when they come to the town clerk’s office.”

He said he’s also focused on record-keeping: “I want to keep the historic records. I want to archive the records that we have, and preserve the history of the town as well.”

Among a handful of candidates who didn’t have to wait for election results were Meredith Lipinsky and Dana Brown, who ran unopposed for the two town assessor seats. Ms. Lipinsky, who was born and raised in Wading River, has served as a Riverhead Town assessor for the past four years. Ms. Brown has worked for the assessor’s office since 2013. She was appointed to a vacant seat in April 2021 and was elected in November of that year.

“I am grateful that I’m running unopposed,” Ms. Brown said. “I don’t know why I’m running unopposed. I do feel that I do a good job. I have been with that office for 10 years now. And I’m excited to grow with it.”

Republicans were similarly successful in several countywide campaigns. The race for Suffolk County executive has been called for Republican and Conservative candidate Edward Romaine, with a nearly 40,000-vote lead over Democratic and Working Families candidate David Calone, an entrepreneur and former federal prosecutor and New York State special assistant attorney general. Mr. Romaine, a four-term Brookhaven Town supervisor, has a reputation as a fiscal conservative who has long supported both green energies and preserving open space. He will succeed Democrat Steve Bellone, who has reached his term limit after 12 years.

With 53% of the vote, Republican Catherine Stark appears poised to win the race over Democrat Catherine Kent to serve Suffolk County’s 1st Legislative District. She will fill Mr. Krupski’s seat, which he has held for 10 years. Ms. Stark, a lifelong Riverhead resident, began working for Suffolk County in 1996, first for the Clerk of the Legislature and then for Penny Wells LaValle, director of real property tax services. For seven years, she served as chief of staff for former Suffolk County legislator Jay Schneiderman, who later became Southampton Town supervisor. Since 2013, she has done the same for Mr. Krupski. In 2018, Ms. Kent, a lifelong East Ender, was elected to the Riverhead Town Board where she formed the Riverhead Downtown Revitalization Committee, hired more police officers and spearheaded the installation of surveillance cameras.

Across town at the Democrats’ gathering, Riverhead Democratic chairwoman Laura Jens-Smith said her party “put a full commitment into this race.”

Angela De Vito, the Democratic candidate for supervisor,was philosophical about the results.

“I’m disappointing we did not succeed, but I do not feel that we lost,” she said. “Because we don’t have a seat at the table, it doesn’t mean that we cannot participate in the life and community of Riverhead going forward in the future.”

Ms. De Vito said the Democrats “need to be holding [Republicans] accountable for actions and decisions to get made.”

Democratic town council candidate Andrew Leven said he is down but not out: “As Winston Churchill famously said, it’s not how many times a person gets knocked down, it’s how many times he gets up, which is the measure of that person.”